Today I'm off to Dallas to attend my photography workshop. While I'm gone, I thought I'd share some of the shots that I took with my Hasselblad at the beach last week, ones which are surprisingly in-focus -- "surprising," because I was 2/3 of the way through the roll of film before I realized that I hadn't focused the camera, not once (note to self: old, completely-manual film cameras tend not to have electronic auto-focus. D'oh!).

Also, and completely unrelated, I was going through my old archives, and
I found some words that I wrote 7 years ago on September 11th, while we
were still living in Trinidad. The sentiments that I expressed then
are ones that I've been mulling over a lot recently, so they sort of resonated with me, 7 years later; I thought I'd
reshare them with you (with updated links).

Originally published September 11, 2006:

Late last week, I stumbled across the site of someone who had written
a post about Chookooloonks and another blog she had recently
discovered. She said really kind things about both Chookooloonks and
the other blog, but then she mentioned that she felt that she could
relate to the other blog more because, in essence, the other blogger
blogs about bad things that happen in her life more than I do, and,
basically, my life, as portrayed here, was too "idyllic" to inspire the
same feelings of familiarity.

Well, I hate to leave a false impression, so let me correct this misconception right now:

My life is not perfect. And I mean that emphatically, sincerely, and without reservation.

That said, I do think it's pretty good -- and honestly, I say
this not out any conceit, truly, but rather it's because I make a concerted effort to take stock of the good and beauty in my life every single day, even the bad ones.
Writing Chookooloonks, for me, is a tool for doing this. It's a way
to record the fact that even when life is frustrating, or current events
are depressing, or the crime and inefficiency of my country are
spiraling out of control, I still have a great husband, a funny kid,
good family and friends, and in a place that, despite it all, is
capable of great beauty. Sometimes I kvetch here, but I do try hard not
to.

The other reason that I write Chookooloonks the way I do is because I
hope that occasionally it brings a smile to the faces of people who
come across it, and helps remind them that despite whatever's going on
in their own lives, if they look hard enough, they will be able to find
good and beauty around them as well, however small. Besides, I find
that good and beauty, even in tiny doses, can do wonders. Furthermore, the blogs that I read and count as my favourites
tend to be very uplifting, and I hope in my small way, I can pay
forward the wonderful feelings these talented writers and artists
inspire. There's enough ugly in the world -- you need only note today's
date to be reminded of that. The way I figure it, there's no reason to
put any more ugly out there.

Anyway, that's my story -- perhaps it seems a bit rose-coloured, but
it's an honest depiction of how I try to view my life, just the same. Here's
hoping that despite everything, you easily find the good and beauty in
your life as well.

On that note, have a great weekend, friends. Wish me luck that I learn some new photography tips and tricks, and that I'm brave enough to share the results when I return.